Phish Fall Tour 2018 Ends In Las Vegas – Setlist & Recap

Phish brought their 2018 Fall Tour to an end with a fourth and final show at MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas on Saturday night. The finale in Sin City saw a first set highlighted by a beloved “Tube Jam” and the rarely-played “Lifeboy” within a “Mike’s Groove.” The second set once again had standout improvisations, punctuated by an exceptional “Split Open And Melt.”

Just as they began the first night of the tour in Albany, “The Moma Dance” started the first set of final show of the fall. The second song of the evening, as has often been the case this tour, “Kill Devil Falls” led to a quick burst of early-show improvisation. Though the “KDF” ultimately was short and sweet, the foursome still managed to cover some intriguing territory together. Guitarist Trey Anastasio took charge of “Roggae,” initially easing into the loping back half of the song before kicking into a vigorous sprint to the finish. The delightful “Water The Sky” gave Page McConnell a forum for his nimble piano playing to shine on the bluegrassy number. The quartet then rolled through the fifth song of the set, bassist Mike Gordon’s searing “555.” “Tube” not only delivered its long sought-after jam, it came with Trey settling on a beautiful melodic foundation that led to extensive, outstanding improvising, which shifted form for a few minutes before turning hard into the blues-rock ending.

The blissful joy of the “Tube” jam turned to the sentimental tenderness of “Farmhouse,” which featured Trey laying out a passionate solo with Page responding in kind on Fender Rhodes. A blistering “Mike’s Song” was met with enthusiastic approval from those gathered at the MGM as the classic song twisted up a flurry of forceful excitement. A second sentimental turn of the show came through the segue into the rarity “Lifeboy.” The contemplative ballad last played on October 26, 2016 (a 71 show gap) was quickly trailed by Gordon slapping out the introductory notes to “Weekapaug Groove.” The lively set-closing “Paug” was peppered along by Jon Fishman’s steady pace, Page’s aggressive piano work, Trey’s cutting riffs and Mike’s thunderous bass thumping throughout. The only other “Mike’s” > “Lifeboy” > “Weekapaug” paring came back on August 13, 1996 at Deer Creek.

The final set of the tour opened with “Carini,” which, in a callback to the previous’ night’s encore had Trey shouting Fish’s nickname “Bob Weaver.” The opener took time expanding in form, stacking laid-back funkiness into a kinetic jam built with menacing intensity as the drummer quoted “Death Don’t Hurt Very Long” from Wednesday’s Kasvot Växt Halloween set. Then the foursome kicked into “46 Days.” Trey’s vigorous soloing was the centerpiece of the tightly presented “46 Days.” The increasingly less-rare “Scents And Subtle Sounds” made its fourth appearance of 2018, marking the first time the song has seen that many plays in a calendar year since 2004. The intro-less offering led to some angular, groovy jamming, leading to a pretty motif that served as a springboard to an egalitarian sequence of joyous interplay. After barrelling to a rousing climax, the “Scents” jam was harnessed by Trey’s howling chords filling the venue before he counted out Talking Heads’ “Crosseyed & Painless.” Page’s choppy Clavinet and Fish’s exuberant drumming (and singing) propelled the cover first played on Halloween 1996 through an exhilarating Type I workout. Trey capped the jam by firing off a signature tension-riding solo.

A wash of sound enveloped the arena before Fish kicked into the disco-pattern of “Also Sprach Zarathustra.” Lighting director Chris Kuroda accentuated the funky instrumental with the full force of his impressive rig. It was then time for Mike to lead the classic “Possum,” which came with another heaping dose of notes out of Trey’s Languedoc. Pushing on, “Split Open And Melt” oozed out a deep ambient groove, as the four almost came to total silence before re-engaging in a multifaceted progression built out of a wide range of sonic textures. A return to nearly-silent ambience swallowed the stage for several moments before the band made a turn to the blistering ending of a remarkable, 20+ minute “Melt.” Page’s ballad “Wading In The Velvet Sea” was a tame start to the encore. The final card played Saturday night was “Character Zero,” bringing a rocking end to the set, the show, the four-night Vegas run and the tour.

As the song came to a close, after calling it an “unforgettable” stop in Vegas Trey told the audience, “In the words of the indelible Bob Weaver — thank you so fucking much, thank you!”

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